Reel Time: Clams restored to Manatee County waters

Rusty Chinnis - January 30, 2019

Sarasota Bay Watch capped a two-year clam restoration effort in January. Despite windy conditions and a choppy bay, board members and volunteers placed 7,000...

Reel Time: Push poles – a must in skinny water

Rusty Chinnis - January 22, 2019

Push poles are as essential as rods and reels to anglers who stalk the flats. They have evolved from wooden poling oars hewn from...

Reel Time: A new direction for Florida’s marine environment

Rusty Chinnis - January 15, 2019

At a press conference Jan. 10 at Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida’s new Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, announced some sweeping changes to the way his...

Reel Time: The miracle of Matlacha

Rusty Chinnis - January 8, 2019

Matlacha is a piece of Old Florida that has been spared, in large part, because it isn’t situated on the Gulf of Mexico. That...

Reel Time: Sarasota Bay seagrasses take a big hit

Rusty Chinnis - December 11, 2018

I don’t have to remind anyone of the devastation the red tide wrought in our bays and Gulf. Images of dumpsters stuffed with fish,...

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Rusty Chinnis

Rusty Chinnis is an avid fly fisherman, a photojournalist and a retired building contractor in addition to being a passionate defender of the local environment's importance to the health and economy of the area. A 42-year resident of Longboat Key and Manatee County, he is chairman of the board of Suncoast Waterkeeper, a founder and former co-chairman of the Sister Keys Conservancy, and founder and chairman emeritus of Sarasota Bay Watch in addition to being The Sun's Outdoors columnist. Email